Team: 2022-23 Boston Bruins

Initial Creation Date: Mar. 21, 2022

Published: Mar. 21, 2022

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

Really thought after the Lindholm deal that the B’s would load up to make a run this year. Not only did they swing and miss by not addressing their forward corps, but they now officially overpaid in the Lindholm deal by not using the cap space that they paid for with the retention. I think the inconsistency of DeBrusk and Haula and the lack of quality depth options up front will eventually catch up with them in the playoffs in a loaded East that got even stronger today.

So now you look ahead to next season and the Bruins have the potential to be better with Lindholm, but the cap is preventing much else from improving. In order to re-sign Bergeron, swap DeBrusk, and fill out the roster, other sacrifices will need to be made.

The dead weight is Ullmark and Foligno, but only one of those two has a full NMC next year. Good locker room influence or not, Foligno has to go. He was a bad signing and has no spot on this team, especially given the cap issues. Then DeBrusk needs to go. His trade request still stands and the Bruins need more reliability from that amount of cap space. They were sniffing around Garland today and I think they get it done this summer. He and DeBrusk are so similar in career numbers that I think a deal is more likely than some think. This still isn’t enough though and the reality is that the Bruins can’t have two $3MM defenders on the bottom pair. Reilly is good but he has to go. He can land the Bs a decent pick this summer with a weak UFA market. Zboril will be more likely to resign with an actual starting spot open as well. If healthy, I would give him a leg up on Brown or Clifton.

With all that done, there is room to resign Bergeron and fill out the roster. Adding some AHL-bound veteran depth will be big this off-season too. It’s important to leave some cap space in case a rental 2C needs to be added if Haula, Studnicka, Steen, McLauglin, or whoever else doesn’t work out. With potential Bergeron heirs like Bo Horvat, JT Miller, and Ryan O’Reilly hearing for free agency in 2023, may as well leave open the possibility of acquiring them early a la Lindholm. In the meantime, the young guys get some opportunity to prove themselves next year as the Bruins evaluate who to build around as the next generation of core players.

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